Alice Ekka and the question of authenticity in Hindi Adivasi literature

Abstract

This paper investigates the question of authenticity developed in the contemporary Adivasi literary discourse in light of some short stories of Alice Ekka, an until recently unknown Adivasi author active in the 1960s. The discovery of this author moves further back in time the beginning of Hindi Adivasi literature, previously believed to have emerged between the 1980s and 1990s following the rise of Dalit literature. As a forerunner, Alice Ekka manifests in her narrative some elements that are peculiar when analyzed in relation to the assumptions made in contemporary literary discourse on Adivasi writing. From her short stories, it becomes clear that besides her Adivasi background, she was also informed by the viewpoint of the educated, middle-class city dweller and drew inspiration without constraint from mainstream literary traditions such as the Hindi Chayavad and English Romanticism. The paper discusses how the presence of such elements contrasts with the assumption of Adivasi “authentic” literature based on Adivasi consciousness and tradition.

Keywords

• Alice Ekka, Adivasi literature, authentic writing, romanticism